On today’s CHMA local news:
- Mount Allison Student Union stands up for international students;
- Still mixed messages at the border;
- No public inquiry for Nova Scotia mass murder;
- Halifax welcomes Canada prematurely, by accident;
- A look at what Sappyfest has planned for its pandemic year;
- and the Maritimes COVID update.
No new cases of COVID-19 in the Maritimes
New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and PEI all reported no new cases of COVID-19 yesterday.
There are three remaining active cases in New Brunswick, one in the South East zone and two in the central zone.
There are two active cases of COVID-19 in PEI, and just one remaining in Nova Scotia.
MASU calls for clarity and openness for international students
The Mount Allison Students’ Union executive is speaking up for international students who may have trouble crossing into Canada for school this year.
In a letter to students, the executive points to a recent announcement by the federal government with ominous warnings for international students planning to return to Canada.
The federal government warns that students with study permits approved after March 18th will not be allowed into Canada.
Students with permits pre-dating March 18th will have to convince Canada Border Services workers that their attendance in person is necessary and not discretionary.
The union’s letter states that as long as 14-day isolation protocols are followed, “international students have every right to pursue their post-secondary studies in Canada.”
The union says it has confirmed that Mount Allison will issue letters to international students stating their presence on campus is required and not discretionary, to help them cross the border.
The union is asking the federal government to expedite permit processing for international students, and to clarify the documentation required for entering Canada.
The union says that 12% of Mount Allison’s students are international, coming from over 50 different countries.
The letter states, quote, “Canada has the moral obligation to support cross-cultural learning and promote the freedom of students from around the world to live and study in Canada.”
Mixed messages at the border
Essential workers crossing the Aulac border are still getting mixed messages.
Amherst shelter worker and Sackville resident Joanna Perkin says her treatment at the border varies from day to day.
Some days she is directed into the faster commercial vehicle lane with her essential worker pass, and other days she is asked to wait in the slower personal vehicle lane.
Public Safety communications officer Coreen Enos says that anyone with an essential worker pass should be directed to use a designated lane for truck drivers and daily commuters.
Enos says her department is “aware that in some instances travelers have been given incorrect information, however the blue passes issued to workers remain valid and workers should continue to use them.“
Meanwhile, some are questioning the ultimate legality of border restrictions.
CBC’s Alexandre Silberman reports that the Canadian Civil Liberties Union is concerned that New Brunswick’s border restrictions may violate the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The group has joined a lawsuit in response to travel restrictions in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Nearly 5000 personal vehicles and just over 2000 commercial vehicles crossed into New Brunswick at the Aulac border on Wednesday, according to government statistics published online.
Aulac is New Brunswick’s busiest border, handling nearly 55% of total border traffic across the province on Wednesday.
Out of nearly 13,000 vehicles crossing on Wednesday, a total of 120 vehicles were turned away, according to government statistics.
No inquiry for Nova Scotia mass murder
The day after a march by victims’ family and friends to demand a full public inquiry into the mass shooting in April, the federal and Nova Scotia governments have announced they will not call a public inquiry.
Instead, Nova Scotia Justice Minister Mark Furey and federal Minister of Public Safety Bill Blair announced a three-member Independent Review Panel to look into the mass murders.
The panel will be chaired by former Nova Scotia Chief Justice Michael MacDonald, and includes former Liberal cabinet member Anne McLellan and former Fredericton chief of police, Leanne Fitch.
The review panel will not have the power to compel testimony, nor will it have subpoena power, though government institutions like the RCMP have agreed to “participate fully” in the process.
It remains to be seen whether the review panel will hold hearings in public.
Unlike a formal public inquiry, the panel members will decide which hearings will be open to public scrutiny.
And again unlike a public inquiry, the panel’s recommendations will not be binding.
A lawyer for victims’ families issued a statement on their behalf yesterday, saying the announced review was, quote: “wholly insufficient to meet the objectives of providing full and transparent answers to the families and the public, identifying deficiencies in responses, and providing meaningful lessons to be learned to avoid similar future tragedies.”
The statement went on, quote: “Ministers Furey and Blair have hidden behind their contrived notion of a “trauma-free” process to exclude the full participation of the families under the guise of protecting them from further trauma. This is not how the families wish to be treated. I know that Minister Furey has spoken with the families, so he must know that they want to participate, not to be protected by an incomplete process.”
Welcome back to Halifax, Canada!
Tourism operators in Halifax got a surprise in their inboxes yesterday afternoon when tourism promotion organization Destination Halifax accidentally sent out message announcing the expansion of the bubble to include other provinces in Canada.
The subject line of the message read, “Welcome Back to Halifax, Canada!”
The director of the organization told the Halifax Examiner he has no special information about the date for an expanded bubble, and that he was simply preparing for the eventual announcement when he accidentally shared a draft email.
The Nova Scotia premier and chief medical officer have scheduled a press conference for 1pm today.
Sappyfest’s pandemic year: Sackville’s biggest festival reinvents itself for 2020
COVID-19 has certainly reshaped Sappyfest 2020, but festival organizers have still managed to put together a roster of pandemic-friendly events and activities.
Erica Butler called up creative director Steve Lambke to find out more about what Sappyfest will look like in this pandemic year.
Click to listen:
CHMA Local News is hosted Mahalia Thompson-Onichino, and produced by Erica Butler, with contributions from Bruce Wark, Meg Cunningham, Aura-Lynn Groomes, Geoff de Gannes, and James Anderson.
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